1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to caller identification. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a method and system that enables caller identification look-up functions to be performed with partial phone numbers.
2. Related Art
Computer systems and other electronic devices have become integral tools that are used extensively to perform a wide variety of useful operations in modern society. Computer systems along with other electronic devices are finding new applications as a result of advances in hardware technology and rapid development in software technology. The growing affordability of computer systems and electronic devices together with the abundance of useful new applications contributes to strong demand for such systems and devices.
Specifically, as the components required to build a computer system have been greatly reduced in size, new categories of computer systems have emerged. One of these new categories of computer systems is the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). A PDA is a portable computer system that is small enough to be held conveniently and comfortably in the hand of its user. In particular, a popular size for the typical PDA approximates the size of a palm.
The PDA is usually a battery-powered device that is typically used as an electronic organizer having the capability to store and display a wide range of information which can include numerous addresses and telephone numbers of business and personal acquaintances, financial information, daily appointments, along with various other personal information. As such, the PDA is able to consolidate a wide variety of information and make the information easily accessible by its user. Therefore, PDAs are very useful and have gained wide popularity.
As the popularity of personal digital assistants increases, more functions and devices are integrated into a PDA. One example is the integration of a cellular phone into the PDA. Combining a Personal Digital Assistant with a cellular phone provides a very powerful device for a multitude of functions. One function in particular is caller identification. The benefits of caller identification have been appreciated, but when combined with a Personal Digital Assistant, more opportunities arise.
Caller identification provides the called party with the name and/or telephone number of the calling party. Caller identification is usually provided to a customer by its local central office. Most often, each central office has access to a local database containing telephone numbers and the corresponding names of people within its local area. Before connecting a call to the called party, the central office searches its database for the telephone number of the calling party. If the telephone number is found within the database, the name corresponding to that number will be accessed and are delivered to the called party by the central office using a predetermined protocol.
If the telephone number and name are not stored on the database, the service cannot provide a name to the called party. When a service is unable to identify a name corresponding to the number, it may deliver only the phone number and a message indicating that the calling party""s name is unavailable. This is an undesirable result for a customer who wants to know information about the party calling. Particularly with the use of cellular phones, the caller ID function provides only the phone number of the calling party. Unless a phone number has been previously programmed into the phone, the resulting display only provides the phone number of the caller. Without any further information about the caller, except the caller""s phone number, the user may not know anything about the caller thereby loosing the benefits of caller ID.
Thus, there exists a need for a device that uses a partial phone number or a wild card entry to identify characteristics of an incoming call. The present invention uses a Personal Digital Assistant and a caller ID to provide detailed information to a called party. With the use of a Personal Digital Assistant, the called party can retrieve information about the caller even if the caller ID does not provide the name of the caller.
In accordance with the present invention, a caller identification system and method are disclosed to permit caller identification of partial phone numbers. Embodiments of the present invention provide a flexible and programmable caller identification system that can provide information about phone numbers not previously recorded in a caller ID database. In addition, the caller ID system can be integrated into a portable electronic device, e.g., a portable computer system to further expand the capabilities of a partial information caller identification system. When the caller ID service can""t provide the name of the caller, the PDA is queried to give any information that corresponds to the telephone number of the caller. For example, the PDA could have a stored database of area codes and corresponding cities. When a call is received, and no caller ID information is supplied, the PDA could be queried to provide the name of the city that corresponds to the area code of where the call was coming from. Likewise, the PDA can have a stored database of telephone prefixes of cellular phone carriers. This would allow a user to be notified that a call was originated from a cellular phone and be provided information about the caller such as the cellular provider the caller is using.
Embodiments of the present invention include a caller identification system and method for identifying a caller with a partial phone number look-up table. The caller identification system comprises a database that stores received calls and can be personalized to include information specific to partial phone numbers. In one embodiment, the caller identification system disclosed can be integrated into a cellular phone. In this embodiment, an incoming call initiates a search in a database to retrieve information about the caller. If a match is found, the identity of the caller is displayed. When an exact match is not found, a search for a partial match is executed and information about the partial match is displayed. Information for a partial match can be personalized or pre-programmed into the caller ID system such as the city associated with a particular area code or prefix. In particular, phone numbers with wild card flags can be programmed into the database to facilitate this type of search.
More specifically, in one embodiment, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is coupled to the caller identification system. The caller identification system comprises a telephone sub-circuit for receiving telephone calls, caller identification logic for receiving caller identification, a memory for storing a database of received and pre-programmed phone numbers and partial phone numbers, and a processor for determining a match or the closest match between the incoming caller ID information and the caller ID information stored in the database. In another embodiment, the match logic and the database can be located in a remote server and the caller identification is transmitted to the display unit.